Reid urges Inouye successor appointment

12/22/12 8:15 PM EST

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Saturday urged Hawaii's governor to appoint a successor to the late Sen. Daniel Inouye before the new year so the state is "fully represented" for a possible vote to avert the fiscal cliff.

Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie plans to appoint a replacement before Jan. 3, when the new Congress is sworn in. But the urgency of Reid's request, before Inouye is even laid to rest, suggests he'll need every vote he can muster for a post-Christmas effort to stave off the massive tax hikes and spending cuts set to hit next month.

Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat and the Senate's most senior member, died Monday of respiratory complications at the age of 88.

"With the passing of my dear friend Senator Daniel Inouye, I have asked the governor of Hawaii to appoint Senator Inouye's successor with due haste," Reid said in a statement Saturday evening. "It is critically important to ensure that the people of Hawaii are fully represented in the pivotal decisions the Senate will be making before the end of the year."

Hawaii Democratic Party leaders have decided to meet sooner to pick the names of three finalists to submit to the governor, Chairman Dante Carpenter told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Rather than 5 p.m. Friday, party officials will meet at 8 a.m. Wednesday, the day after Christmas.

Democratic Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, Inouye's preferred successor, remains the front-runner. If she is appointed and sworn in before Jan. 3, she will become the senior senator from Hawaii and make history as the Aloha State's first female senator and the upper chamber's first Asian-American woman and Buddhist.

Otherwise, fellow Democratic Rep. Mazie Hirono, who won election last month to replace retiring Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka, would have that distinction, something POLITICO explored in a story earlier this week.